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Comoros govt. prepares military invasion

The government of Comoros is preparing a military invasion of the rebel-controlled island of Anjouan. Watch a special report from our correspondent in Comoros Franck Berruyer.

As the Comoran federal government army prepares to attack Anjouan, Mohamed Bacar, the island’s president, is said to be ready to put up a fight.

Comoran soldiers in conjunction with African Union (AU) troops are getting ready to mount an assault on Anjouan, the renegade Indian Ocean island led by Colonel Mohamed Bacar. The leader remains confident, however, and has told FRANCE 24 that he is ready to fight back.

“We’ll fight, if necessary. We have enough weapons and men at our disposal,” Bacar told Franck Berruyer, FRANCE 24’s special envoy in the Comoros, which are located off the eastern African coast. According to Bacar, his troops are as ready for battle as they were ten years ago. At that time, the island of Anjouan defeated the national Comoran army before finally coming under the control of Moroni, the archipelago’s capital.

Bacar does not reject the idea of negotiation, however. “It is never too late for peace,” he said. “I wish that everyone would just come to their senses and agree to have a discussion.”

Neither the president of the Comoran federation, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, nor the AU, France or the United States recognize last year’s illegal election.

Anjouan has been threatened “merely because it’s a very small island,” says Bacar, who adds that the problem is also with the African Union, which does not confer enough autonomy on the islands that compose it. “What we need is to organize a round table on the real problems of the Comoros, between Comorans, put it all on the table for discussion. If the round table decides we need new elections at Anjouan, well, then we’ll have new elections,” he promised.